The 5 O’Clock Club: UDFA spotlight – CBs Fentrell Cypress and Car’lin Vigers

It’s 5 o’clock somewhere…

The 5 o’clock club is published from time to time during the season, and aims to provide a forum for reader-driven discussion at a time of day when there isn’t much NFL news being published. Feel free to introduce topics that interest you in the comments below.

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Fentrell Cypress

UDFA CB Fentrell Cypress is a 23-year-old, 6 ft, 182 pound cornerback who was with the Virginia Cavaliers for 4 seasons followed by two seasons at Florida State.

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Pre-draft analysts continually stress that he is more skilled as a zone defender than he is in man cover. A common theme in relation to his developmental needs is his play strength.

The Draft Network:

In man, Cypress can align with his shoulders neutral to the line of scrimmage or with his back to the near sideline. Stays low in his backpedal and has the necessary footwork to tempo and maintain pace with varying speeds in front of him. Has experience and comfortability working both in off and press-man situations.

In zone, Cypress’ atypical Cover 3 body type works well downhill. Communication is evident, as is the understanding of countering certain concepts as the middle defender. Will relay signals to safeties pre-snap when faced with bunch sets or trips to his side, including if he identifies a Hi-Lo concept at the initial stages of a play.

As a run defender, Cypress shows flashes of a high-level tackler in the open field. However, it remains an inconsistent part of his game as his pursuit angles and overall play strength are outliers that prohibit him from consistently making plays in the fringe areas. Not shy in sticking his face in the mud at the line of scrimmage but can be overpowered and blocked away from plays.

Overall, Cypress is a competitive corner with a knack for making plays on the football. He projects immediately into a primary zone defense but improving the nuances in his game in man coverage will showcase a prospect teams will prioritize when searching for depth in the draft.

Bucs Report:

While he offers versatility with experience in both press and off-man coverage, Cypress may struggle in man-to-man situations at the NFL level unless he improves his ability to redirect and adds play strength. However, his well-rounded background and propensity for creating turnovers will likely appeal to teams seeking a developmental cornerback with long-term potential.

CBS Sports’ Chris Trapasso is notably out of step with other analysts in his recent comments in which he described Cypress as a “man coverage specialist”:

Fentrell Cypress II is a man-coverage specialist with the athletic attributes to play that role in the NFL,” Trapasso wrote. “While not ridiculously long, the former Florida State star is 6-foot-1 and 181 pounds with 4.43-second speed in the 40-yard dash, a 38-inch vertical jump and tremendous agility illustrated by his 6.84-second time in the three-cone drill at the Seminole pro day.

Sports Illustrated joined the majority opinion:

Fentrell Cypress II is a zone cornerback with good eyes and spatial awareness to operate Cover-3 match/zone concepts or Cover-4/Quarters; he could also be fine in a Cover-2 scheme as the flat defender.

He may struggle to consistently defend receivers in man coverage due to sloppier transitions against sharp cuts and questionable play strength.

While Dan Quinn’s defensive schemes do include Cover 3, he doesn’t rely solely on it. He has a history of using Cover 3, particularly with his zone-match variations, but he also incorporates man-to-man coverage and other coverages. Fentrell Cypress may have a learning curve ahead of him to earn his way onto the Commanders roster.

Fentrell Cypress II 2024 Highlights | Welcome to the Commanders

FSU Football: Fentrell Cypress II on a year of experience, not being hesitant, and secondary talent

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Car’lin Vigers

Although Car’lin Vigers played only 3 seasons at Louisiana-Monroe, at 25, he is older than the typical rookie. That is explained by this feature on Vigers that was published in January:

Vigers’ football journey didn’t start until his senior year at Eunice High. Eunice won the 2018 Class 3A State Championship in Car’lin’s first year playing football. Vigers played safety and said it was a great experience, but what made him want to play football in the first place?

“My best friend, childhood best friend Jordan Le’Det,” Vigers said. “You know, I always kept a promise with him. If I was to come out my senior year and play then he was going to come out for basketball and play”

Vigers played basketball for four years but after playing a year of football, he knew he wanted to play at the next level. However, after graduation Car’lin took some time away from football.

“I didn’t go straight to (junior college) after high school,” he said. “I took a year and some change off not knowing I was going to still play football”.

With help from Le’Det, Vigers joined Independence Community College, a junior college in Kansas. Car’lin played cornerback for a year and a half with the Pirates. Vigers says junior college helped him grow as a player on and off the field.

The grind would continue for Car’lin. In 2022, he signed with the University of Louisiana at Monroe. The 6-foot 2-inch, 205-pound defensive back played both cornerback and safety for the Warhawks.

At 6’2”, 200 pounds and a reported 4.53 time in the 40, he offers good measurables.

Steelers Depot did a nice film breakdown on him. Some of those comments are summarized below:

Vigers has flown under the radar despite having a build the NFL typically goes crazy over. With height and length, Vigers can blanket receivers as a put-together cover corner.

He can find the ball well in zone and uses his length well.

Vigers struggles as a tackler. Per PFF, he had a 19.5% miss rate in 2024 — especially disappointing given his background playing safety.

Like a couple of other corners we’ve profiled, he also primarily operated as the boundary corner and will have to play in space with the NFL’s narrower hashes.

Overall, he is an intriguing prospect who played up to competition and can cover man-to-man. His tackling is messy and his production is light; his lack of long speed is a problem.

A system fit is tricky for him. He didn’t press much and wasn’t proficient there. A Cover-3 system makes some level of sense, but it takes away some of Vigers’ best traits. A more man-heavy scheme is the best for him to see success as an above-average corner who won’t create big plays but can stick to his assignment.

My NFL comp is Isaac Yiadom a similarly framed cornerback with just 3 interceptions despite playing 2,500 career snaps.

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The Draft Network published a good interview of Vigers prior to his final college season (2024):

JM: You’ve played boundary cornerback and box safety. You’re versatile like that and you’ve made a ton of plays at both spots. Which position feels most natural to you?

Car’lin Vigers: That’s a great question. It’s funny, my coaches at Louisiana-Monroe have often asked me that question as well. I always say boundary corner. I have great size for the position, but I also move incredibly well for my size. I have great feet and I understand how to use my hands.

I love disrupting the timing between a quarterback and the receiver I’m covering. I’m physical at the line of scrimmage. I can come downhill and make tackles from the safety position as well. I can impact the game from a variety of spots. I think cornerback is my best position, though.

JM: Legend has it you once played a high school basketball game against Buffalo Bills rookie receiver Keon Coleman. I heard y’all went back and forth in that one (laughs). Both of you hail from Louisiana. What do you recall?

Car’lin Vigers: That was my first basketball game of the season after winning the state championship in football. I didn’t even get in a single practice because the football season had just ended like a day or two prior to the first basketball game.

Playing against Keon Coleman in that game, we had a great matchup (laughs). It was very competitive, especially for my first game back. We definitely went back and forth, which made it even more fun.

Keon came out and made big-time plays for his team and motivated me to do the same for my team. I was fresh off a state football championship and feeling good (laughs).

I ended up with 30 points, 15 of which came from the 3-point line. We were able to pull away with a victory.

Car’lin Vigers Highlights | Welcome to the Commanders

COMMANDERS 2025 NFL SIGNEE CARLIN VIGERS TALKS LIFE IN EUNICE AND MORE WITH DACHOSENONES!!